CH 5 Communication.pdf

SADI
2022-2023
Chapter 5:
Enhancing Leadership Effectiveness
through Communication
Course: Educational Administration and Leadership 1
Mr.VATH VARY

Learning
Outcomes
• Describe the
communication
process
• Outline the flow of
communication in schools.
• List several processes
educational leaders can
implement to reduce barriers
to effective communication.
• List three approaches that
educational leaders can use to
build positive interpersonal
relationships in schools.

Let me hear your voice!
1) Why is communication
important in school
organizations?
2) What are the steps in the
communication process?
3) Why is it important for school
administrators to become
familiar with nonverbal cues?
4) In what directions do
communications flow in schools?
5) What are the barriers to
effective communication? What
are some techniques for
overcoming these barriers?

• involve people (subordinates and
persons outside the organization) and
other ceremonial and symbolic duties.
• involve
collecting,
receiving,
and
disseminating
information.
• entail making
decisions or
choices and
include
entrepreneur,
disturbance
handler, resource
allocator, and
negotiator.
Management Roles Approach (chapter 1)
Exhibit 1–5 Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles
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The Importance of Effective Communications
• Anyone who
walks through
a school will
observe
numerous
communicatio
n activities
taking place.
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• Secretaries type letters, memoranda, and reports;
• Others talk on the telephone;
• A parent conference is under way in the assistant principal's office;
• The principal is in an evaluation conference with a teacher;
• Other meetings are in session;
• Teachers and students exchange information in classrooms;
• And a number of other communication activities, using a variety of
media, can be observed.

Examples:
• The principal provides a faculty member with
directions.
• A faculty member discusses the curriculum.
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• The administrator of today's school
organization has a multifaceted
job:
• Set objectives, organize tasks,
motivate employees, review results,
and make decisions.
• Tasks cannot be accomplished,
objectives cannot be met, and
decisions cannot be implemented
without adequate communication

• Through effective
communications,
relationships are
built; trust is
established,and
respect is gained
• “Communication is
the lifeblood of the
school; it is a
process that links
the individual, the
group, and the
organization”
• Transmitting messages is a major
function of school leadership.
However, in daily school
operations, leaders not only
communicate by transmitting
messages, but they also receive,
monitor, and seek them.
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What is Communication?
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• ‘Communication’ involves transmitting
information from a person (the sender) to
another person or group(s) (the
receiver[s]) and may occur in various
forms, verbally or nonverbally.

Two Types of Communication
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• When message is transmitted with the use
of words in a written or oral manner.
• When a message is transmitted without
the use of words, but by body language,
hand movements,eye contact,and facial
expressions,physical touch,proximity to
others,or any other physical gesture that
can convey meaning
Verbal
communication
Nonverbal
communicati
on
• Oral mode: face-to-face faculty meetings,
staff conferences, meetings with parents, and
in discussions with students, telephone
conversation;
• Written mode: sends out a letter, a memo,
newsletters, notices to parents, and other written
materials or electronic forms

The Transmittal Process
• The leader must realize
that the meaning is not in
the words of the sender,
but rather in the mind of
the receiver.
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The receiver gives
meaning to the
message
background
Knowledge
Experiences
values
Prior
observation

• One-way form
of
communication
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• Two-way,
interactive
form of
communication
and repetition
• Ex. Face-to-face meetings
and telephone calls;
• allow interaction to
occur between the
senders and the
receivers of messages.
• Ex. Letters, memoranda, and
others.
• Do not allow verbal and
nonverbal clues to assist
in the transmittal process;
therefore, the message is
subject to interpretation.
 It is advisable, in most school situations, to use
multiple forms of communication because
repetition improves effectiveness.

Agreement About the Meaning

• Leader must be:
• available, approachable,
and able to listen
intelligently and carefully
to others;
• attentive to both the
content of the message
and the feelings of the
sender.
• Leaders acquire the total meaning of the
message and observe the underlying
feelings of the message, while noting
and being sensitive to all verbal and
nonverbal clues displayed by the
sender.
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The Skilled Communicator
Rogers and
Farson (2001)
advise that to be
an effective
communicator,
leaders must be
active listeners
(Table 5.1)
• Effective Active Listener is to view
communication as a people process,
rather than a language process.
• A leader who is truly a skilled
communicator will perfect the
communications process and
deliver messages using
techniques or strategies that are
appropriate to the requirements
of the situation.

• A formal network: is a
means of transmitting
messages that is
sanctioned by the
organization in
accordance with its
hierarchy.
• An informal network
(grapevine): emerges as
individuals in the
organization interact with
each other in ways that
do not reflect the
organization’s hierarchy.
• Jackie (a science teacher) advises
her friend Betty (the school’s reading
coordinator) that a new reading
program is going to be
announced by the principal and
Betty shares that information with
James (who teaches reading)
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The Flow of Communication in Schools
The principal …
• holds a faculty meeting and shares
information regarding the new reading
program;
• receives a message from the
superintendent and passes along that
message to teachers who,in turn,pass
it along to their students.
• Information in schools is transmitted into two networks:

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The Direction of Communication in Schools
• Communic
ation in
schools
flows in
several
directions:
• Vertically: downward and
upward
• horizontally
• diagonally.

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• Is the flow of messages up and
down the hierarchy within the
organization.
Vertical
commu
nication
• Ex. bosses communicating with
subordinates,subordinates
communicating with bosses.

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Downward
communication
• Occurs when people
at higher levels
transmit information
to people at lower
levels.
Upward
communication
• Occurs when
individuals in the
role of followers
send messages up
the chain of
command to their
leaders.
• Ex. Principals to department heads,
department heads to teachers:
• assign goals, provide job
instructions, explain policies and
procedures, provide a sense of
mission, offer feedback
(performance), or orient new
employees to the system.
• Reports of progress on current
projects; Reports of unsolved
problems requiring help from
people higher up in the
organization.
• Suggestions for improvements.
Reports on employee attitudes and
efficiency.

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• Upward communication is perhaps the form of
communication that is most prone to filtering
(sharing only select portions of a message).
Lewis (1987)
suggests
that this
reluctance
stems from 3
interpersonal
factors
a) teachers not wanting to take the risk
of making suggestions that could
possibly result in additional work;
b) teachers fearing that the principal
will negatively impact future
promotions;
c) teachers being uncertain of the
manner in which the principal will
receive the information and how the
principal will use his or her power in
the future.
• Ex.Teachers resist providing principals with
unpopular or negative information.

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• Horizontal
communication: occurs
when individuals
communicate with
other individuals of the
same status in the
organization.
• Diagonal
communication:
when individuals at one
level in the organization
communicate with
individuals at another
level in a different
division or department
• Below communications flow within and
between work units; the main purpose
is coordination.

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Examples of
horizontal
communicati
on
Example of
Diagonal
communicat
ion
• At the upper levels of a school district, for
example, the assistant superintendents for
instruction, business, and personnel will
coordinate their efforts in arriving at an
integrated strategic plan for the district.
• In a high school, meanwhile, the department
chairpersons will work together in developing
a curriculum for the entire school
• The assistant superintendent for business
(ASB) wishes to conduct an instructional
program cost analysis for each high school.
• It involves having each high school principal
send a special report directly to the ASB, rather
than go through the traditional circuitous
channels of assistant superintendent for
instruction to the coordinator of secondary
education to the high school principals and back
again

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• Network
patterns—the
star, wheel,
chain, circle,
and Y
• illustrate the degrees
of centralization and
structure that can
occur among
senders and
receivers
Another pattern of communication flow in
schools is the communications network
The Participation of Individuals in the Network

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Chain network,
• the second most
restrictive,
characterizes two
people who
communicate with
each other and
then with one
other person.
• Ex 1. If the principal gets a directive from
the superintendent regarding the
curriculum issue previously discussed
with the members of the 4th-grade
curriculum team and communicates that
directive to the department chair of the
fourth grade
• Ex 2. A teacher reports to the department
head, who in turn reports to the principal,
who reports to the assistant
superintendent for instruction, who
reports to the superintendent.
• Wheel network: a
two-level hierarchy, is
the most structured and
centralized of the
pattern because each
member can
communicate with only
one other person.
• 4 subordinates (assistant superintendent
for business,instruction,personnel,and
assistant to the superintendent) send
information to the superintendent
• Then information sent back to
subordinates, usually in the form of
decisions.

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Y network:
communication is
similar to that of
the chain except
that
two members fall
outside the chain.
Example
• A principal may get directions
from the superintendent
regarding completion of a task;
• Then give directions to
each of two assistant
principals, who may be part
of his staff.
• Each assistant principal
could discuss the task
with the principal, but
not with each other or
the superintendent

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• ‘star network:, an extension of
the circle network, permits each
member to communicate freely
with all other persons
(decentralized communication)
• status is not an issue, and the
benefit to be derived is high
faculty morale.
• Ex. All 4th-grade curriculum
team members communicate
with each other regarding the
development of the new
curriculum
• Circle network:, a three-level
hierarchy, symbolizes horizontal
and decentralized
communication, which gives
every member equal
communication opportunities.
• As an individual
communicates in two
directions (right and
left), there is equal
communication, and
each individual is
considered to be a
decision maker.

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Conne
ctors
•are individuals on the faculty who see possibility, know a large
number of people from different sectors, and have mastered
the skill of bringing them together.
Mavens
•are members of the faculty who are resourceful; they have
accumulated knowledge, are willing to collaborate, solve their
own problems, and assist others in solving their problems
Salesm
en
• are positive thinkers who are energetic and have mastered the power of
influence.
• are skilled in drawing people to them and using their charm to
persuade others in a particular direction
• When focusing on individual faculty members and their
participation in the network, the role that some faculty members
play can have a tremendous impact on school goal attainment.
Gladwell (2002) places these individuals in three categories:

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Reducing Barriers to Effective Communication

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Strategies for Reducing Barriers to
Communication
a) establishing effective interpersonal relationships;
b) managing position power;
c) acquiring feedback;
d) developing an understanding of cognitive
dissonance theory;
e) practicing active listening;
f) developing an understanding of communication
accommodation theory;
g) displaying empathy; and
h) understanding the ethics of conversation.

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Interpersonal
Relationships
• The manner in which individuals interact with
one another can create a certain emotional
climate.
• Leaders have to develop interpersonal
relationship skills sufficient to
communicate the information that is
needed in order to make quality decisions.
• Building a
Culture of Trust
• Reducing the
degree of
defensiveness
in
conversations
• the leader is consistent in words, actions, and
deeds, and there are no gaps between what the
leader says and does
• Gibbs (2007) proposes that when individuals
send messages that reflect evaluation, control,
strategy, neutrality, superiority, or certainty,
the receiver of the message becomes
defensive.
• School leaders should avoid using evaluative
or judgmental statements.
Strategies for Reducing Barriers to Communication

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Six communication styles
• Six communication styles reported
by Greenberg and Baron (2010)

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• Effective leaders must sustain a collaborative position that
displays “acts of caring about what the other person says,
without seeking to either fix the situation or discord or to
discount it.’’
Position
Power
• Feedback: the information provided to the sender by the
receiver, conveying how the message was received and
the action taken (Cusella, 1987).
• Its purposes:
• give individuals and groups important information
about their level of performance;
• solicit ideas from teachers (e.g.how to improve school
programs)
Acquiring
Feedback
• The school leader has to stay connected with the
faculty, interact, and exchange information (empower
faculty and have them commit to goal attainment)
• Ex.When entering a meeting, a leader individually greeted as
many people as possible, shook their hands, and made warm
comments.

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• Addresses how humans seek to achieve
internal consistency
• Ex.Whole Language VS. Phonic
Approach to teaching reading
Cognitive
Dissonance
Theory
Practicing
Active
Listening
School leaders should
• model active listening:
• assist faculty members in gaining a clear
understanding of their roles and
responsibilities and demonstrate a
cooperative attitude toward others;
• encourage other individuals to become
active listeners.
• view communication as a people process, rather
than a language process

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• 2 strategies
used in the
accommodatio
n process.
• If the communicator chooses to
communicate in a similar manner as
the other person: Convergence
strategy
• If the communicator chooses to
communicate in a totally different
manner: Divergent strategy
• Occurs when people interact, they adjust
their speech, their vocal patterns, and
their gestures to accommodate others.
• addresses communication taking place
between individuals from different
cultural or demographic groups (e.g.
age, gender, race or nationality, or sexual
or religious orientation)
Communication
Accommodation
Theory

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Displaying
Empathy
• Empathy is ‘the ability of senders of messages to put
themselves in the position of the receivers’
• involves conveying to receivers that their feelings
are being acknowledged and understood and that
both the meaning and feeling behind what is
being said are appreciated
The Ethics of
Conversation
• When individuals participate in an ethical
conversation, certain qualities of character are
exhibited, and the process of conversing reinforces
these qualities.
• The conversation is governed by reason, and
participants are willing to provide evidence for their
position, take responsibility for the statements that they
make, be open to persuasion, and yield to the better
argument (Grant, 1996).
• When leaders advocate a conversational process that includes
ethics, they advance a sense of value,equity, trust,and acceptance.

Communication: The Rise and Fall of School Leaders
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• Four behaviors that can cause serious
problems for school leaders:
• Engaging in
inappropriate
conversations;
• Ex. School leaders should never
talk to one teacher about another
teacher regarding school-related
issues.
• Ex. when information regarding a change
in assignment, a promotion, or a demotion
is communicated, school leaders must
assure the individual affected that the
information will remain confidential
• Failing to
protect
confidential
information;

Communication: The Rise and Fall of School Leaders
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• Ex. It is important school leaders to
listen to all faculty members.When
this does not occur, a defensive
school climate is created because
the leaders convey to their faculties
that they are not important and that
what they have to say is not
important.
• committing to
delivering
promises over
which they have
no control; and
• Ex. A teacher is promised placement
as a senior English instructor.When
the position becomes available,
central administration chooses to
assign another person to the
position.
• Communicating in
a manner that
provokes a
defensive climate.

Electronic Communications
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• “any transfer of signs, signals, writings,
images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any
nature transmitted in whole or in part by a
wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo
electronic or photo optical system”
(U.S. Department of Justice, Offices of the
United States Attorneys),
What is Electronic
Communications?

 Consists of
teleconferencing, cell
phones, networked
computers, video
equipment, televisions,
and other personal
devices
• Is defined as a
process that allows
one to write text and
send that text to an
individual or group of
individuals via the
Internet
Communicating
Through
E-mail
The Use of
Telecommunications
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Electronic Communications

• Communication is all-
encompassing in today’s schools.
• Communication is the lifeblood of
relationships, which are a lifeline for
accomplishing the goals of the school
• When members of the school team
communicate effectively, they feel connected,
understood, valued, trusted, and respected.
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Leadership for Today’s Schools

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Summary
• Communication is the lifeblood of the school. It is
the glue that holds the other administrative
functions together.
• Through effective communication, the school family
can work collaboratively to achieve the vision of the
school by openly identifying problems and seeking
solutions, while trusting, respecting, and valuing the
diversity that comprises the school family.
• When people communicate effectively, fear is
removed from the workplace, and creativity comes
alive.

CH 5 Communication.pdf

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CH 5 Communication.pdf